How Dealerships are Losing Online Leads

The automotive industry is notorious for outdated sales practices and our lack of a fundamental e-commerce framework. But what’s worse than no online presence at all is one that feels half-baked and leaves customers more confused than ever.

Andrew Tai is the CEO and co-founder of Motoinsight, but his influence extends far beyond the company. A contributing columnist to The Globe and Mail and a prolific speaker, Andrew is a recognized authority on digital retailing within the automotive industry.

Here’s what’s happening and how you can fix it.

Are you handling
your online leads correctly? Or at all?

17% OF DEALERS FAILED TO RESPOND TO ONLINE LEADS

In recent research
conducted by our team, 17% of dealerships never responded to online lead forms
and requests for information — and that’s just the start. The automotive
industry is notorious for outdated sales practices and our lack of a
fundamental e-commerce framework. But what’s worse than no online presence at
all is one that feels half-baked and leaves customers more confused than ever.

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Stop scaring
away your digital leads

60% OF DEALERS DIDN’T ANSWER BASIC PRICING QUESTIONS

First, we have
online lead generation itself. This seems easy — just build a website and wait
for the leads to roll in. Maybe promote yourself on social media for some more
lift. But it’s not that simple. Customers like the internet because it’s easy,
anonymous and flexible. They can research their next induction cooktop in
between meetings and compare the brands in their price range.

The automotive
industry makes it difficult by offering little to no information online for
consumers. Instead, 15% of dealerships list “$CALL” instead of any useful price
information. It doesn’t help that 37% of dealers require a customer’s phone
number just to inquire about basic financing data. Some dealers even go so far
as to force customers onto a mailing list as a precursor to any conversation.

For customers who
typically have the power to research and purchase products from home, the
presence of 20th century sales processes is off-putting. It feels needlessly
involved and pushy, especially when they know they’ll inevitably end up in the
dealership for the test drive anyway. Add to that the 83% of consumers who
spend more than half their time researching their purchase online; you have to
wonder why so many dealers refuse to answer questions online.

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In our research,
60% of dealers declined to answer basic questions about lease and finance
pricing, pushing phone calls and appointments on customers who want neither. We
received as many as 22 emails without ever seeing anything resembling a useful
answer, instead receiving a litany of requests to call or visit the
dealerships.

The omni-channel
solution for online leads

15% OF DEALERS ASKED FOR INFO MORE THAN ONCE

All of these
problems go away when we take the responsibility for the transition between
digital and personal away from salespeople. Your team has its strengths, but
you can accomplish so much more with sophisticated software. An omni-channel
digital retailing system makes it easier to track and close online leads. It’s
time to reduce that 17% of dealerships who never follow up on leads.

A true omni-channel
digital retailing platform also keeps the data flowing. We found that 15% of
dealerships asked for information already provided on the lead form, which
wreaks havoc on consumer confidence. With a system that integrates a customer’s
digital and dealership experiences into one unified journey, information
doesn’t get lost and customers don’t feel ignored.

There’s no better
way to make a client feel as though their time isn’t valued than by pushing for
hours of phone calls and in-store appointments to answer a question that could
be addressed in a simple email. And yet, dealerships send as many as eight
emails in two days without ever answering the customer’s query.

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That’s what
omni-channel fixes: your customers can bounce back and forth between the
internet and the showroom as often as they like. They can proceed with
confidence from the knowledge that their information and progress will follow
them at every step. No online leads get lost, and no customers get frustrated
and leave for another dealership.

Make your
dealership stand out

3% OF SALESPEOPLE DIFFERENTIATE THEIR RESPONSES

We found that
only 3% of salespeople made any attempt to differentiate themselves when
responding to lead forms. Generic responses and vague statements made each
dealer’s email blend into the next; our overburdened inbox contained little
useful information.

Believe it or
not, this is good news for you. It’s not hard to stand out right now. Consumers
are happy if dealerships can answer even the simplest questions without a
lengthy phone call or trek to the showroom, which gives you the opportunity to
stand out like never before. An omni-channel digital retailing platform
eliminates all the sticking points in the sales processes. Even better, it
builds customer trust in a way few can compete with.

Most dealerships
make the purchase process too complicated and too time consuming, and customers
are ready for something better. When your competitors are struggling to respond
to leads at all, your seamless digital retailing experience makes your
dealership the obvious consumer choice.